Revenge – O-Em-G

Ho. Ly. Crap. That was a crazypants episode of Revenge. OK, readers of Couchtime. You want some advice? Revenge is the show that you should be catching up on this summer. It is a delicious nighttime soap with complex characters, crazy twists and surprises, and juicy storytelling. You want in.

Last night’s season finale really brought it in the awesome twists department, so don’t click through unless you’ve seen it.

Where to begin, where to begin? We were hit with not one, not two, but THREE major surprises last night on Revenge. One, Fake Amanda Clark is apparently pregnant with Jack’s baby. I, for one, will not believe this until I see a paternity test. Two, Victoria Grayson is DEAD??? At least, that’s what we can presume since Conrad blew up the airplane she, Lydia, and all the evidence against him were on. And three, Emily’s mother may actually be alive – and the whole David Clark terrorism framing goes WAY beyond the Grayson family.

Now, let’s back it up to the beginning.

A friend in need…

Emily went to the white haired man’s home where Nolan was being held with a plan. An amazing freakin’ plan, which included not one but two hidden lock picks. She gave the guy a phony story about the evidence being hidden in a locker, and while he went after it she freed herself and Nolan from his cell. (You know you’re messing with a real villain when he has a holding cell in his suburban home.)

Em sent Nolan to deliver the evidence that would exonerate her father to the feds while she waited, armed and ready, for her father’s murderer to return. She beat the crap out of him. She was ready to kill him. And then her conscience, the morals of the girl her father had raised, took over.

Oh, Emily. I think Emily thought that proving to the white haired man that she could kill him if she wanted to would be enough. I think she thought that since Nolan was already delivering the evidence, it would all soon be over. But she was wrong, and letting her humanity take over was her undoing.

A Friend Indeed

Thinking that this whole revenge thing was behind her, Emily ended her engagement with Daniel and was ready to confess her love for Jack. She planned to tell him everything. But we all knew it was too good to be true, right? Even if Emily did manage to tell Jack her true identity, I knew something would get in the way of their being together.

And that thing was Amanda and her very large baby bump. When Emily arrived at the Stowaway ready to deliver the truth, her biggest and most difficult to control lie was there, waiting for her. Sure, Emily could have told the truth anyway. But now there’s a baby involved, so even if Emily told the truth she and Jack wouldn’t be able to be together. So she’ll keep living the lie, even though it devastates her.

Consequences

Emily thought that sparing the white haired man’s life would honor her father, but instead it ruined everything. Emily assumed that the chain of command ended with the Graysons, and that the white haired man was just someone they hired to do the dirty work. But that wasn’t the case, and sparing his life gave him the opportunity to thwart her.

Had Emily killed him, the Graysons would have gone down and I don’t know where that would leave the show next season. And that’s why this plot twist works. Instead, the white haired man, Conrad, and god knows who else blow up the airplane that contains the evidence against them, and as far as we know, Victoria and Lydia.

Emily realizes her mistake, and is shattered by the idea that this was all for nothing. Her mission failed and she doesn’t have Jack. She sacrificed her own happiness, and for what? But then Nolan arrives. He’d backed up the files before delivering them to the feds – of course he did! People like Nolan back up their iTunes accounts on a daily basis, of course he kept a copy of the evidence! And what it revealed was the last, final twist. That the scandal went far, far beyond what happened to Emily’s father. And that her mother is still alive.

And then there’s poor Charlotte. After seeing on the news that the plane with her mother on it had blown up, Charlotte called Declan. But she’d done a catty, cruel thing at school and he wouldn’t take her phone call. She felt alone, her mother is dead, and she’s a troubled, sad girl. She swallowed a bunch of pills, and Conrad found her limp and unconscious. Personally, I think Charlotte dying is a good storytelling point. She hasn’t been an integral character, and I like the idea that Conrad’s horrible move lost him something very dear. He has paid for his actions with the daughter he raised – we all know Conrad loves Charlotte, even though she’s David’s daughter. And Emily, how would she react to the news that the half-sister she never got to have a relationship with is dead?

Oh man. This episode did such a good job of setting up for next season. Is Emily’s mother involved? A victim? We have no idea. Are Victoria and Lydia actually dead? I hope not, Madeleine Stowe is too scintillating on this show to lose, and besides, what would the costume department do with all those bandage dresses if she’s gone? For the last part of this season, Victoria and Emily were working toward the same goal without realizing it. Can you imagine what could happen if they suddenly know the truth about one another? Especially after the scene where Victoria revealed that her engagement gift for Emily and Daniel had been empty, finished with her cutting “Now best of luck with your next endeavor.”

 

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